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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

P. M. LUDLOW.

MEANS FOR OPERATING VALVES.

No. 299,079. Patented May 20. 1884.

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(No Model.) 2 SlieetS- Sheet 2.

P. M. LUDLOW.

MEANS FOR OPERATING VALVES. No. 299,079. Patented May 20,1884

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FRANCIS M. LUDLOWV, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MEANS FOR OPERATlNG VALVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,079, dated May 20, 1884.

Application filed May 4, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. LUnLow, of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and use- Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the tappet arm for mechanically operating the valves of the steam-cylinder, and Fig. 4. is a top view of same, showing part of the pistonrod and collar thereon for operating the tappetarm. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section of the steam-cylinder taken on line 5 5, Fig. 7; and Fig. 6 is ahorizontal'longitudinal section of same taken on line 6 6, Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 7 7, Fig. 5; and Fig. 8 is a similar view taken on line 8 8, Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is an edge view ofthe hub packing-rings of the piston, and Fig.'10 is a similar view of the packing-ring of the body of the piston. Figs. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the valves.

My invention relates to the means for operating the valves of steam and other cylinders; and my invention consists in features'of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Arepresents the steam-cylinder; B, the pump-cylinder; A, the steam-cylinder piston, and O the rod connecting the pistons of the steam-cylinder and pump-cylinder. The piston A has a hub, A A provided with packing-rings A A and the body of the piston has apacking-ring, A. Preferably these packing-rings all have coiled or other suitable springs, A, placed behind them (see Fig. 6) to keep them expanded, there being holes made in the piston to receive the springs, of which there may be any desired number, and the rings A A are held from being expanded too far by the springs by means of inwardly-extending projections A which engage with the disks D on the piston-rodat each end of the piston. (See Figs. 6 and 9.)

E represents the inlet, and F the exhaust, ports of the cylinder.

G H represent ring-valves at the opposite ends of the cylinder. They are each provided with a pair of packing-rings, G H, which also preferably have springs G7 H placed behind them. (See Fig. 5.) The holes in these ring-valves are of sufficient size for the hub of the piston to fit snugly therein, and they are connected by suitable means.

I have shown rods G IF secured, respectively, to the valves, working through stuffingboxes G H in the heads of the cylinder, and having crossbars G H secured to their outer ends. The two crossbarsare connected by rods I, supported by suitable lugs, I, on the cylinder, through which they pass. Thus the moving of one valve operates the other. The inner packing-rings of the valves operate to open and close the exhaust, andthe outer packing-rings to open and close the inlet ports of the cylinder.

The valves are preferably operated automatically by the moving piston as follows:

Supposing the piston to be moving in the direction shown by the arrow in the diagram, Fig. 11, as the hub reaches and enters the valve at this end of the cylinder, it catches, and, as it continues to move, compresses the air or vapor therein and forces it to enter a small chamber or space, J, behind the valve, (there being a space or spaces, K, provided between the inward projection, L, of the cylinder-head and the valve for the passage of the air or va por, allowing it to enter the chamber J.) The air or vapor being made to enter the chamber J, and being still further compressed by the moving piston, forces the valve in the opposite direction to which the piston is traveling, as shown by thearrows, thereby closing the exhaust and opening the inlet port, (sec diagram, Fig. 12,) allowing the live steam to enter and return the piston. As this valve is moved, it operates the valve at the other end of the cylinder, thereby opening its exhaust and 'closing its inlet port, and as the piston reaches the other end of the cylinder, it operates the valve of that end in the same manner as just described, and so the operation goes on, the piston working the valves alternately opening and closing the ports.

By making the packing-rings G H con pressible or collapsible, as described, the live steam will compress them, thereby gaining admission with a small movement of the valves, and a small amount of steam can thus be furnished in' advance of the main supply, causing an easy working of the parts. If the valves should not have made their full movement before the live steam begins to enter, and generally they would not, their movement,

' of course, will only be assisted and not renecting the two cylinders.

' a collar, secured to the piston-rod G. The

shaft is rocked by the movement of the tappet-arm, and is connected, by means of suitable cranks and rods 0 to the cross-bar H. The tappetarm is thus operated at each extreine movement of the piston, and in turn op-' crates the valves, if they have not already been operated, as described, by the piston.

' This tappet-arm, however, is not an absolute necessity, and is only added to avoid all possibility of a failure of the valves to operate through means of the compressed air or vapor.

I have shown my improvement applied to a steam cylinder or engine; but it is evident that it may also be applied to air, gas, or any other kind ofengines.

By allowing a little space between the hub of the piston and its packing-rings, as shown in Fig. 6, the air or vapor which is confined between the body of the piston and the valves will, as soon as it becomes sufficiently compressed, collapse the packing-rings of the hub, allowing the live steam to enter (the inlet-port of the cylinder by this time having been partially opened by the moving valve) the chamber between the body of the piston and the valve, and the live steam thereby serves to stop the movement of the piston in this direction and acts as a cushion to the moving valve, preventing the valve from striking the piston. The parts of course would have to be properly adjusted relative to each other to insure this action at the proper time.

My invention admits of various modifications, one of which is that the valves may be located in an auxiliary cylinder and operated by the main piston through means of a suitable connection. The valves also may be connected within instead of without the cylinder.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with a piston, of a valve, the piston adapted to force a part of the fluid in advance thereof to the inlet side of the valve, to move the valve toward the piston to open the inlet and close the outlet, as set forth.

2. The combination, with a piston, of a valve having a passage through it to permit a part of thefiuid in advance of the piston to pass to the opposite side of the valve, to force the valve toward the piston, as set forth.

3. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with the piston, of the ring-valves adapted to be operated by the piston through means of compressed air, vapor, or other similar matter, substantially as set forth.

4. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with the piston having a hub, of the ringvalves adapted to receive the hub of the piston, and having chambers behind them to re-' ceive the compressed air, vapor, or other similar matter, for the purpose of causing the valves to be moved in the opposite direction to which the piston is traveling, to open and close the inlet and exhaust ports, as set forth.

5. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with the piston having a hub provided with compressible packing-rings, of the valves adapted to receive the hub of the piston .to be operated thereby, as set forth.

6. In a steam or other engine, the combination, with the piston, of the valves adapted to be operated by the piston,and having collapsible packing-rings, substantially as shown-and described, for the purpose set forth.

7. In a steam or other engine, the piston and valves, the latter adapted to be operated by the former, substantially as shown and described, in combination with a suitable mechanicalde vice for insuring an operation of the valves at all times, as described.

FRANCIS M. L'UDLOWV.

In presence of SAML. KNIGHT, Gno. H. KNIGHT.

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